National Coalition Launches Refreshed Green Schoolyards Action Agenda
This shared framework equips communities to advance education, strengthen health, build resilience, and expand access to nature — all through the power of schoolyards
San Francisco, CA — Across the United States, communities are reimagining schoolyards as nature-rich spaces that support learning, health, climate resilience, and community connection. Often referred to as “green schoolyards,” “community schoolyards,” or “living schoolyards,” these spaces transform underused often asphalt school grounds into publicly accessible green infrastructure that serves children during the school day and neighborhoods during non-school hours—helping connect families to nearby park access where it is often limited.
Today marks the official rollout of the refreshed Green Schoolyards Action Agenda, a national framework designed to align and accelerate this growing movement.
The Green Schoolyards Action Agenda articulates a shared vision: by 2050, all U.S. communities offer access to green schoolyards that enhance children’s healthy development, strengthen community wellbeing, and deliver positive environmental outcomes—particularly in communities most impacted by climate change, extreme heat, flooding, and historic disinvestment.
“Nature-filled green schoolyards are a multi-solving solution that address urgent needs — supporting children’s well-being and academic success, while bolstering community resilience in the face of climate change,” said Priya Cook, Children & Nature Network’s Director of Green Schoolyards and Communities. “When community members and cross-sector leaders work together to bring nature to schoolyards, these spaces provide students, families, educators and neighbors a place to decompress in nature, to be curious and active, and to gather.”
The Children & Nature Network provides technical assistance and field-building support to expand the number of schoolyards and leaders enabling children, educators, and families to thrive in nature-filled, neighborhood public spaces. With dozens of community teams around the U.S. and the world, the Children & Nature Network supports visionary cross-sector teams in advancing policy, funding, and partnership approaches that fundamentally change systems by integrating nature connection into children’s everyday lives.
The Green Schoolyards Action Agenda update was led by the Children & Nature Network in partnership with Trust for Public Land, KABOOM!, and over 30 advisors, whose expertise spans diverse fields including children’s health, school district facilities, research, climate resilience, and community organizing. Supported by more than 200 organizations and individual leaders, the refreshed Action Agenda builds on years of implementation and learning across the field, including large-scale community schoolyard efforts, shared-use policies, and integrated approaches spanning education, public health, climate resilience, and park access. It draws on lessons and research from the original Green Schoolyards Action Agenda, which debuted in 2017.
Trust for Public Land has played a leading role in advancing community schoolyards nationwide, helping transform more than 350 schoolyards across 26 states, including in New York City, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Designed to remain open to the public during non-school hours, these schoolyards serve as essential neighborhood green spaces—connecting people to the outdoors, supporting physical and mental health, reducing extreme heat, and helping cities expand park access and improve their overall ParkScore®.
“More than 100 million people—nearly 28 million of them children—still don’t have access to a park close to home, and community schoolyards are one of the most effective ways to close that gap,” said Danielle Denk, Trust for Public Land’s National Community Schoolyards Senior Director. “The refreshed Green Schoolyards Action Agenda gives cities and partners a shared framework to scale this strategy nationwide—unlocking the full potential of schoolyards as essential infrastructure for health, climate resilience, and equitable access to nature.”
For nearly three decades, KABOOM! has worked alongside communities to address playspace inequity and ensure kids have safe, inspiring places to play. Building on years of community-led design and construction of playgrounds, KABOOM! has been at the forefront of transforming dozens of traditional asphalt schoolyards into nature-rich playspaces that support physical activity, learning, and well-being in cities like Oakland and Atlanta.
“Access to nature should not be a privilege. It should be a promise we keep to every child,” said Lysa Ratliff, CEO of KABOOM!. “By reimagining schoolyards as vibrant green spaces, we’re unlocking opportunities for kids to learn, play, and grow while strengthening the resilience of entire communities. This is a call to action to come together and ensure every child, in every neighborhood, has daily access to the power of nature.”
Why now? The field has reached a moment of unprecedented alignment. Recent state-level investment in California has elevated schoolyard transformation as a public priority, while cities such as New York City—where long-standing shared-use initiatives have transformed and opened hundreds of schoolyards to over 5 million New Yorkers—demonstrate what’s possible at scale as cities begin to intentionally leverage schoolyards not only for park access, but also as essential infrastructure for cooling communities and stormwater management strategies. Similar momentum in rural and Tribal and Indigenous communities show locally and culturally tailored design approaches can deliver transformational results that deliver many vital benefits to the community and students alike. At the national level, anticipated federal legislation signals growing recognition of schoolyards as cost-effective, equitable solutions that advance education, public health, climate resilience, and park access together.
The refreshed Green Schoolyards Action Agenda offers a practical tool for alignment—helping practitioners, policymakers, funders, and advocates connect local action to national momentum. As part of the launch, partners will explore what’s new in the agenda, how it reflects lessons from across the field, and how organizations and leaders can sign on and help advance green schoolyards at scale.
To learn more about the Green Schoolyards Action Agenda or to add your organization’s support, visit greenschoolyardsactionagenda.org.
###
About the Children & Nature Network
The Children & Nature Network believes, and research proves, that regular time outdoors is essential for children’s healthy development. The nonprofit organization leads a global movement of leaders, educators, practitioners and parents working to ensure equitable access to the benefits of nature everywhere children live, learn and play. Learn more at childrenandnature.org and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and The Trailhead, a free online global community for children and nature leaders.
About Trust for Public Land
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that connects everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they’re needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,500 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised over $112 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 10 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.
About KABOOM!
KABOOM! is the national nonprofit committed to ending playspace inequity – the reality that quality places to play are not available to every child, especially in communities of color. In 2026, KABOOM! is celebrating its 30th milestone year of partnering with kids and communities to create or transform 17,000+ playspaces and ensure that more than 12 million kids have equitable access to the critical benefits and opportunities that playspaces offer. KABOOM! continues to make progress on its mission to end playspace inequity at scale across the United States. Learn more at kaboom.org or join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
